Lemmings fans can finally rejoice… well almost. While Caveman isn’t exactly the same game, it’s pretty darn close. It’s possibly the closest gamers will get to playing Lemmings on an iOS device unless Sony actually does their own conversion.

Mobile 1UP had originally planned to bring the Lemmings game to iOS, but unfortunately a Cease & Desist Order from Sony Entertainment put a damper on things. The developers didn’t let this stop them, though, and worked hard to bring users a new game based on the original known as Caveman.

Anyone who isn’t familiar with Lemmings has missed out on possibly one of the most awesome computer games released in the ‘90s. In both Lemmings and Caveman, the game is divided into a number of levels that are grouped into four different difficulty levels. Each level has an entry point and an exit point.

There are different land elements in each level. Some elements are destructible while others are not. There are also obstacles along the way like water, holes and lava. The goal on each level is to guide the required percentage of Cavemen from the entrance to the exit in a set amount of time by creating a safe passage for them. Gamers do this by assigning a task to each Caveman or else they will walk in one direction and ignore everything in the way. The mindless characters die by falling from a great height, burn in lava or find another way to die or get trapped unless gamers guide them to safety.

In order to successfully beat a level, gamers must assign tasks to the Cavemen. The tasks are located at the bottom of the screen and there are only a set number that players can use. There are eight tasks that must be assigned carefully: climber, floater, bomber, blocker, builder, basher, miner and digger. Failure to assign tasks properly will result in having to restart the level. Instead of restarting a level by pushing a button, gamers will have to use sudden death to make them all blow up.

There are a few perks that fans of the original game will enjoy such as the ability to assign skills exclusively to Cavemen, the option to zoom in and out of a level, a release rate to increase or decrease how fast the Cavemen enter the level, three assignment options, secret timewarp codes and four unlockable difficulty levels: easy, medium, obscure and insane.

As a huge fan of the original Lemmings game, I can vouch that Caveman is the next best thing. While the “Let’s Go” and squeaky sounds have been replaced with Cavemen grunts, it’s still pretty fun to blow them up. The only recommendation that I can make is that the controls need tightening as it’s easy to accidentally assign tasks. Overall, I highly recommend this game to everyone looking to relive a piece of their childhood. Be sure to check out Caveman HD for the iPad and Caveman Lite.